Bonded

Chapter 9

The girls tried to be quiet as they entered through the back door of the Summers' house; Buffy half expected to see her mother standing at the foot of the stairs to greet them, frantic with worry and stress over Dawn's whereabouts. But fortunately, for Dawn, at any rate, this didn't happen. The house was very quiet… apparently Joyce was already asleep and had not noticed Dawn sneaking out. This, of course, was probably exactly why the younger girl had chosen to do so. Looked like she was getting off pretty easily, for now at least…

Both Slayers were starving after the nights' action- Buffy had actually heard Faith's stomach growl a few times- and they headed for the kitchen, pulling out leftovers from dinner, and in Faith's case, a box of Coco Krispies as well. Dawn had started to go upstairs to her room, but Buffy, not yet willing to let her out of her sight, took her by the elbow and tugged her into the kitchen after them, pushing her gently but firmly into one of the chairs.

Dawn had sat with little protest, seeming to still be resigned and just guilty enough to still do as Buffy and Faith told her. Although she refused offers of food, Faith made her drink from a glass of water; she had learned from experience that alcohol makes you dehydrated.

It had not been very much fun, sitting there eating with Dawn as she sat there silently, not speaking, barely glancing at them. She wasn't exactly sulking or scowling so much as brooding, though Buffy could tell from the set of her shoulders and the furrow of her brow that though Dawn might be reflecting on what she had done wrong, she still had not forgiven them entirely for what she felt THEY had done wrong.

It was very quiet as the older girls ate and Dawn sipped unenthusiastically at her water, a tentative, awkward air hanging about them. There was an unspoken attempt at a truce right now among them, a desire to tread carefully and not shake things up yet… but they all also knew that it was not yet firm or permanent, that there was still bridging to be done between them, wounds needing time to scar over. But at least they were at a beginning now, and they tried with their silence to preserve it, protect it.

As she sat there, her chair in between Dawn's and Faith's in placement, it occurred to Buffy that she felt as if she were sitting between them emotionally as well as physically. On one hand, she was still feeling her guilt for how Dawn had found out about herself in the first place, her knowledge that she, and mostly she alone, had started this inadvertently. As right and necessary as it may have been, she also hated the way Faith had now twice confronted Dawn for her behavior.

But on the other hand, she was still so hurt by Dawn's deliberate rebellion, her cruelty to Faith… hurt, and very pissed off, at least in part. It would have been bad enough if Dawn had said it just to Buffy, but for her to say it in front of Faith…

So thus torn between her conflicting feelings, Buffy had simply opted not to act out on either one of them, but rather to let them be until later. Still, she found herself watching both girls furtively, trying to sense their mindsets… Faith's in particular. Though Faith was seemingly only absorbed in her eating, Buffy knew how much what Dawn had said to her had bothered her, knew that it was probably still running through her mind.

In the past, if someone had said something so hurtful to Faith, Buffy knew she would have responded by striking back at them physically, or else running away, withdrawing to herself. But she no longer did that now… she had not done that tonight. Instead she had stood her ground- without violence. She had said what needed to be said… Buffy didn't know if she herself, in Faith's shoes, would have been able to do it. She was so proud of her that she could barely stand to sit still… and she really didn't like how quiet Faith was now, didn't like the possibility that she might be slipping into a form of withdrawal right now in front of her.

When Faith had finished eating, Buffy stood, taking her own plate and cup in one hand, and stepping over to stand beside her. Looking down at her, she squeezed Faith's shoulder tenderly with her unoccupied hand. When Faith glanced up at her, Buffy smiled at her softly, bending to kiss her cheek and then turning her face so it rested against Faith's for a second, not saying anything. She felt as well as heard Faith sigh a little, and Buffy's heart moved slightly as she squeezed Faith's shoulder again. Straightening, she picked up her dishes along with her own.

"Dawn, come help me wash these," she said quietly as she carried them to the sink, setting them down on the washing side.

Dawn, who had looked away a little too quickly when Buffy went to touch Faith, looked up then in surprise, her eyebrows drawing together in consternation.

"That's only like five dishes, Buffy."

"Exactly… so it won't take you two minutes to come help me wash them," Buffy countered, looking at her steadily.

Dawn seemed to swing rather decisively from her wavering emotions right back to one she was very familiar and at home with, one that probably seemed safe to her as compared to others at the moment… silly, petty arguing over common complaints with her older sister. Surely arguing over dishes was preferable to arguing their betrayals of each other, and yet would give her a chance to bleed off some stronger emotions at the same time. And so she scowled at Buffy with the bratty indignation of all younger sisters who refuse to be bossed by an older one.

"Why aren't you making FAITH help you wash them? You two were the ones who ate off of them, not me. Why do I have to-"

"Do I need to remind you of all the shit you put us through tonight, Dawn?" Buffy cut her off, fixing her with a steely glare that instantly made her shut up and listen, though not exactly willingly. "Do I seriously need to remind you that I'm still pissed off that you would do it-all of it? And is it really necessary for me to remind you that if Mom hears you right now and comes down and we tell her what happened, that you'll be in way bigger trouble then we're planning on giving you?"

Dawn just scowled at her, having no comeback to that… mainly because there wasn't one. She was stuck taking her sister's marching orders, and she knew it.

Her face darkening even further as she caught sight of Faith quickly stifling a grin, apparently getting some pleasure out of seeing this bit of sibling normalcy resuming itself, however temporarily, Dawn glared at her too before stalking noisily to Buffy at the sink, holding her half full glass of water in her hand. Buffy waited, figuring that she was going to pour it out and wash the glass as well… but as Dawn passed her, she jerked the hand holding the water glass suddenly. Water sloshed out over Buffy's shirt, splashing her face as well. As Buffy gasped, her body instinctively jerking from the sudden coldness sinking through her shirt, Dawn smirked broadly.

"Oops… guess my hand slipped…"

She placed her now nearly empty glass on the counter and picked up a spoon, beginning to run water over it with all the casualness she could muster. As Buffy stared at her, her wet shirt clinging to her chest, water dripping from her chin, shock quickly gave way to a sudden anger 

that would have startled her in its intensity before. It seemed all too appropriate now… she was no longer thinking of Dawn as an injured younger girl, no longer thinking how she was upset and confused, how she and Faith had wronged her. All she was thinking was that after all Dawn had done tonight, all she had put them through with her selfish stupidity, after Dawn had not so much as uttered a thank you… after all that, she had just topped it all off by throwing water on her.

In that moment, Dawn seized to be anything in Buffy's mind but her spoiled little sister… an ungrateful little sister who had just done something bratty one time too often. And without thinking about it, her anger and irritation welling up in her strongly, Buffy reacted accordingly.

Reaching across Dawn to pick up the glass, she splashed the remaining bit of water across Dawn's face in one swift motion. As Dawn drew in a sharp intake of breath, her eyes widening as water dripped now down her face too, Buffy smiled back at her in all innocence, her eyes gleaming.

"Oops… guess my hand slipped too. Funny how that is, huh…"

As Dawn glared at her, her eyes narrowing into a rather murderous expression, she glanced over quickly at where the water was still running in the sink over the spoon she was holding underneath it. Yanking the withdrawable water nozzle so that it was stretched out as far as it could go, Dawn aimed it directly at her sister, spraying her- and the cabinets, counters, and floor around her- with a steady stream of warm water.

Buffy screamed, trying to jump back from the water and quickly finding that there was nowhere to go- she was backed up against the sink and counters. Her chest heaving, she glowered furiously at Dawn, sputtering, then wrenched the nozzle from her hands, squirting her right back. Dawn shrieked in a loud, shrill cadence that was undoubtedly heard throughout most of the neighborhood, wrapping her hands around her sister's and struggling to pry them off the nozzle as water sprayed in all directions around the kitchen, wetting the girls and everything around them.

As all this had gone on, Faith had been sitting still in her chair at the kitchen table, shock and near horror flickering in her features. She seemed nervous, even a little scared, as if she expected them to give up on the water and spraying and just to start beating on each other. As Buffy and Dawn shrieked intermittently as the water hit them, Faith stood up quickly, her eyes large with confusion and near alarm as they darted between the tussling sisters.



"Hey! Hey, stop it… what the hell are you doin'?! Your mom's gonna hear you, she's gonna wake up, you better-"

Ignoring her words, but still turning toward her slightly as they pulled the running nozzle back and forth- in danger of ripping it entirely from the sink- Dawn and Buffy, in the process, squirted a stream of water directly into Faith's chest. As she made a hoarse noise of surprised indignation, Buffy and Dawn looked at each other, then Faith, in surprise, their hands loosening on the coveted nozzle. Hair hanging damply in their faces, wet shirts clinging to their chests- Dawn's shirt more see through and skanky-looking than ever- they both began to crack up in the same instant, laughing so hard and so loudly that their eyes began to water. Still holding the nozzle in a relaxed grip, they almost collapsed against each other, gasping with helpless, nearly hysterical laughter, water still spraying steadily around the kitchen.

Faith's eyes widened even further at their reaction, and at first she seemed even more anxious, as if she feared the other girls had lost their minds. But as they continued to giggle, showing no signs or stopping, Faith's eyes narrowed, and she glowered at them fiercely.

"Oh, so this is how we're gonna play it, huh? Then I say bring it ON, yo!"

She lunged at them both, easily snatching the nozzle from their loosened grasps and spraying first Dawn, then Buffy in the face. As they screamed, sputtering and leaping away from her, still laughing breathlessly, Faith grabbed Dawn around the waist and held the nozzle directly over her head so that water cascaded down shower-style over her, positively soaking her, and herself partly as well in the process. As Dawn screeched in a high pitch, squirming against her, but still laughing, her eyes glowing, Faith held her harder, calling out with her own eyes sparkling gleefully, "Say you give! Say you're sorry!"

"N-no! Never… let me go…" Dawn cried breathlessly, sputtering, and then as Faith continued to hold her hard against her, the nozzle still in place, "O-okay! I give… s-sorry…"

Faith let her go, her dimples showing widely with her grin… but no sooner had she released a sodding, slightly choking Dawn then she had grabbed Buffy, pulling her close to her and holding her tight around the waist as she pulled out the front of Buffy's shirt with her hand, sticking the water nozzle down it. Buffy screeched, her eyes growing wider than ever as water soaked down her chest, struggling against Faith. But Faith only pulled her more tightly against her, starting to laugh hoarsely herself, her heart rapidly beating against Buffy's back…

"What in the world IS this?! What is going ON in here?!"

The girls' heads jerked in shock toward the stunned, nearly frantic voice coming from the doorway to the kitchen… the voice belonging to Joyce Summers, who had no doubt been awakened and alarmed by all their noise. Standing there in her nightgown, her blonde curls wildly askew, she stared with something like incredulity and horror both in her expression, looking from the girls to the nearly flooded floor to the water spraying around the kitchen- the water Faith was still spraying down her older daughter's shirt- as if she could not believe that she wasn't dreaming.

The girls froze, their laughter cutting off abruptly at the sight of her as Faith's grip on both the nozzle and Buffy loosened, even as she let it keep running down Buffy's shirt. Dawn, who had been holding onto the sink, doubled over with laughter, looked up with panic stark in her rapidly paling features. Her head whipped about as if she had just realized what they had done, what their mother must be thinking.

Buffy's stomach dropped, and she swallowed, having no idea what must be running through her mother's mind. She could feel Faith stiffen against her, could see her eyes growing large, and she knew that the brunette was even more worried than she was over what Joyce might do.

As Joyce started towards them, her face now very serious, Faith went even more rigid beside her. Buffy knew, and she knew that Faith must know by now, that whatever Joyce did, it couldn't be too horrible… she would never hit or hurt them, physically at least. But even though Faith knew that, she still sometimes reacted instinctively as if she expected her to…something that, thanks to her past and particularly her mother, Buffy doubted she would ever be able to make completely go away.

Barely aware now of the water still spraying down her shirt, of Faith's hand still holding the nozzle there limply, Buffy took a step closer to her almost pleadingly, meeting Joyce's eyes guiltily.

"Mom- I, we, I mean-" she started at the same moment that Faith began, "Mrs. Summers-"

But Joyce had already reached them, by this point, coming to stand in front of them, and the look on her face stopped them. Buffy swallowed, and she knew without looking that Dawn must be 

too. Both of them knew this look too well not to realize that it was the prelude to extreme punishment…

Still not saying a word, Joyce met Faith's eyes deliberately, reaching for the nozzle in her hand. Faith let her take it, cringing slightly, her eyes wide, slightly scared… she looked like she thought Joyce would backhand her with it, or send her straight out the door never to return. Seeing the look on Faith's face scared Buffy more than potential trouble with her mother ever could… for she had hoped Faith was fully and entirely past that, even on an instinctual level.

As Joyce took the nozzle out of the front of Buffy's shirt, holding it so that it pointed downward to spray on the floor, she looked slowly and deliberately at each of the girls, still not saying a word. As their hearts seized up, mouths going dry with their dread of what she would say to them, she suddenly brought the nozzle up, spraying first Buffy, then Faith, and then Dawn in the face in rapid succession. As the girls alternately shrieked or sputtered, totally shocked by this action, their eyes wide and gawking at her, Joyce sprayed at each of them again, her grim expression abruptly dissolving into a wide smile.

From that point on, everything spiraled into a chaotic but relieved, noisily joyful water battle that went on for almost fifteen minutes. In the moment it didn't matter that it was late, that they were tired or confused, angry or upset…it didn't matter that the kitchen was practically flooded and that they no longer understood what was going on or why. All that mattered was that they were doing it, they were enjoying it… somehow, this bit of absolutely senseless silliness was helping to heal, to begin at bridging over their past hurts and betrayals of each other, in a way that active trying had not been able to yield.

They pushed and shoved and yanked at each other, fighting for control of the nozzle, kicking up water off the floor, filling up glasses only to slosh them in someone's face or pour down their backs… all the while shrieking, yelping, and in Faith's case, swearing, at the top of their lungs. But over all that, they were also laughing… laughing longer, harder, and more helplessly than they could remember doing in a very long time. And this was what registered…

By the time they finally shut the water off, they were breathless with their uncontrollable hilarium, sides aching, faces flushed, light-headed and slightly dizzy with their giddiness. All four were grinning hugely, their eyes shining… and Buffy actually had tears streaming down her face from the force of her laughing. She tried at first to wipe them away, but when she looked over at Faith and saw from the telling mascara streaks that she too was crying with laughter, Buffy just erupted all over again, gasping for breath.



By the time the four of them had gotten themselves mostly under control, only giggling or giving a little snort occasionally, the craziness of their situation would have stunned anyone who might have happened to walk in at the moment. The kitchen floor was practically entirely covered in water, slick and damp so that walking across it without slipping was feat nearly worthy of a stuntman. The counters, cabinets, table, window, chairs, and fridge were all splattered heavily with water as well. The women themselves were completely soaked, their clothes plastered to their skin, hair hanging in soggy strings in their faces. They were starting to shiver as the dampness of their clothes began to at last affect them as their wild energy began to fade. They finally began to look around themselves, as if they were just now realizing what they had just done.

Even so, none of them could wipe the beams off their faces… even the weirdness of the situation, the knowledge that it could not last, and could not solve everything, didn't' take away the thrill of the moment, the sense of rightness and security- the sense of peace- that they were feeling.

As Buffy looked around at the other three women, the women she regarded most dearly in her life, she felt such a strong wave of affection and love for them all that her chest actually ached with it, briefly dimming her joy with its intensity. She just wanted to squeeze them to her and never let them go, just keep this moment safe and vivid forever…

As they had gotten caught up in their water battle, they had been touching each other often and easily, their bodies brushing and overlapping as if they were all part of the same person… they had all been touching so instinctively, so entirely un-self-consciously, and this too was something that had been lacking lately, at least as far as Dawn was concerned. There had been no hesitation, no cringing or rebuffing…it had just been easy, just been so… so SOMETHING, something they had desperately needed.

And it was still going on, still carrying over, even with the hilarium beginning to die down. They were all still touching somebody else without even hardly realizing it, without thinking about it at all…

Joyce and Faith were leaned against the sink about a foot away from Buffy and Dawn, half supporting each other. Joyce still gave an occasional snort, and Faith was nearly dry-heaving, leaning a lot of her weight on the older woman with an arm loosely around her neck, Joyce's arm around her waist. With her free hand Joyce was still holding the now-dormant nozzle; every time she glanced at it, she gave a little involuntary snort again.

Slightly apart from them, Buffy and Dawn had slumped to the floor, not caring that they were sitting in a small pool of water. They were leaned into each other almost as much as Joyce and 

Faith were, and it took Buffy some time to realize this… that Dawn was touching her, almost embracing her in a way. Her body was close to Buffy's, her head bowed forward so that her forehead touched Buffy's shoulder…and she seemed okay with it, even to be enjoying it. Maybe she wasn't quite aware of it yet…but she also wasn't moving away.

Buffy held still, her laughter cutting off entirely as she hoped Dawn wouldn't pull away. She wanted to pull Dawn even closer, to hug her and whisper apologies, to tell her as well as show her how much she loved her. But she just stayed still, soaking up their physical contact, and hoping Dawn would not start to cringe away…

"I'm not even going to ask…" Joyce said finally, shaking her head as she looked about her at her very wet kitchen. "But you girls all know you're going to help me clean, right?"

Sucking in a slow, steadying breath, Joyce normalized her expression, her laughter gone, even as her lips were still curled up in a smile. She looked over at her daughter, then at Faith, who was trying to bring herself in control too and coughing as she did, almost sounding like she was choking.

"Honey, are you all right?" Joyce asked with some concern, rubbing her hand up and down Faith's back.

Faith nodded, drawing in a deep breath, and her near-glowing expression made it obvious that she was being honest.

"F-five by five…"

Joyce grinned, then hugged her impulsively, giving her a quick but warm kiss on her cheek. Faith's smile widened further, making her have the appearance of a silly, pleased five-year-old… a look so adorable and rare that Buffy almost started laughing all over again. Releasing her after a moment, Joyce turned to where her daughters remained slumped on each other, the pleasure in her eyes obvious. She didn't say anything; she just extended a hand to them, helping first Dawn, then Buffy, to their feet. She gave them both the same quick but very affectionate hug and kiss she'd given Faith, and when it was Buffy's turn, Buffy could almost physically feel her pride and relief that things seemed to be making a turn for the better.

As Joyce released her, turning back to Dawn, she shook her head ruefully. "So much for not wetting the stitches… we'll have to look those over just in case, sweetie. Girls, go get some old 

towels and a mop…Dawn, push your sleeves back and sit at the table, honey. I need to look at your bandages for you."

Joyce hadn't said anything about Dawn's skimpy attire, or what she was doing up so late… that probably played at least a small part in why Dawn obeyed without protest or cringing, simply sitting as her mother asked. As Buffy and Faith left the room, it seemed that the air had actually thinned out around them, less heavy now that the stress had been eased…

Going into the bathroom with the intention of getting towels, this intention was quickly forgotten as Buffy turned to Faith with a big smile, looking her in the eyes. Locking her arms around Faith's neck, entwining her fingers together, Buffy grinned up at her slightly, just enjoying how relaxed Faith's face was, how the tension had left her muscles. As Faith's arms went around Buffy's waist, holding her slightly to her, Buffy moved in closer, her arms still around her neck as she pressed her head under Faith's chin.

"I love you," she said quietly, seriously, even as her smile did not fade. She felt Faith's arms squeeze her tighter, and Faith answered in the same soft, almost solemn tone.

"I love you too, B…"

Buffy pulled back slightly, giving Faith a soft kiss on the chin- admittedly an odd place, but it was close by, and Faith didn't' seem to mind. Smiling back at her, Buffy's voice grew teasing as she focused on the mascara stains under Faith's eyes from her laughter-induced tears.

"Baby, how many times do I have to tell you…now that you're all soft, getting waterproof mascara is REALLY a must," Buffy needled her as she gently caressed a finger down Faith's cheek, tracing the black mark. Faith scowled at her, but Buffy could tell she wasn't really angry- she was in far too good a mood to be really pissed at her.

"Soft?! I'll show YOU fuckin' soft, blondie-"

"Yeah you will…" Buffy interrupted her, cutting her off with a firm, yet gentle kiss on the lips. Faith went along with it instantly, her hand running with a good amount of pressure up Buffy's back. The girls kissed for almost a full minute before they finally pulled away, their breathing slightly heavy.



"Yep," Buffy whispered, tracing the outline of Faith's lips while running the other hand over her hair. "You're definitely soft…"

It was another five minutes or so before it occurred to them that they were in the bathroom for a specific purpose- to get towels- and that they were also supposed to get a mop. And that Joyce would probably have no qualms about coming upstairs after them and banging on the door…

Grumbling a little, not truly feeling resentment though, they gathered up the towels and started toward the closet for a mop as well, still walking very closely to each other. They took their time with gathering them, with several playful comments about wet T-shirts bantered back and forth between them. Neither of them could stop smiling, could be anything but almost glowing. It had felt so good to let loose like that, so right and hopeful, as if they now knew for a fact that everything would be okay.

That is, until they were coming down the stairs, towels and mop in tow…and almost smacked straight into Glory at the bottom…